The summer season has kicked in, we have been blessed with a continuation of great weather and all members seem to be enjoying plenty of quality time out on the water. The Australia Day Regatta was the biggest attendance in years, with 25 yachts and 22 centreboarders participating in beautiful conditions. There was a wonderful festive spirit with a good number of RPAYC and BYRA members joining us back at the club for food, drinks & prize giving. BYRA did particularly well in the centreboard division and will be picking up a few medallions at the Sydney Town Hall ceremony later this month. Photos from the day are in our Photo Galleries: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/avalonsailingclub/gallery/

Note: the laser with the broken mast was not a member of the Zonca Family - this time it was a BRYA sailor with those honours ! 

Centreboard Sailing

The centreboard group has had a great season so far with 27 in Blue, 17 in Red and 14 in Gold Group and a high level of participation every Sunday. There is a great vibe and typical Avalon spirit every Sunday at the club and out on the water. This season we have adopted a new scoring system for Gold Group which has been setup and run by Helena Van De Linde, follow the link to 2022-23 season on the website: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/avalonsailingclub/centreboards/centreboard-results/

Congratulations to Jeff Conly, Aran Willman and Nicholas Chan who have taken out the podium positions in the Spring Series on both Yardstick and Handicap. 

Manly Junior NSW State Championships - 11th & 12th February ASC

Avalon Sailing Club is hosting the second, and final, round of the Manly Junior NSW State Championships on the 11th and 12th February. We expect a fleet of around 25 Many Juniors sailing in Open & Novice divisions, they will be stored on the deck for the duration of the regatta and we can expect about 50 kids plus 50 Adults as visitors. There will be no regular centreboard sailing on this weekend, as our on water resources will be dedicated to the regatta, and we expect most of our learn to sail kids will participate in the Rookie Fleet. This is the first time in years that we have hosted a kids regatta, and presents a fantastic opportunity for centreboard families to experience the excitement and fun of a home regatta.

Yachts will be sailing the Quartet Bowl on the Sunday with the usual tender service available. Members are asked to give priority to regatta activities, please do not use the deck for storage or maintenance activities during the regatta. Note that visitors will start arriving with their boats from the Friday Afternoon.

Pontoon use must also be prioritised for the regatta, please avoid using the pontoon at all. If you absolutely need to bring your boat to the pontoon, please check with the OOD at the club or via radio on Channel 73 beforehand.

As the host club, we rely on our members to volunteer. Many hands make light work, and it’s a lot of fun to be part of. Let’s be sure to put on a very warm Avalon welcome for our guests, and please sign up for a role here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4aafae2eabffce9-mjnswstate#/

Note that links for all regular sunday and regatta volunteer roles are on the homepage:  www.avalonsailingclub.com.au

Yacht Racing

Unlike the last few years, the weather has been much kinder to us, and there have only been 2 races abandoned. Participation has also been strong this year with a good sized fleet on most Sundays. So far this season we have:

Beau Soleil leading the Two Island Series in a fleet of 8

Force 8 leading the Avalon Series in a fleet of 17

Kookaburra leading the Quartet Bowl in a fleet of 14

Iluka leading the Retriever Series in a fleet of 7

Kookaburra leading the Blue Water Shield in a fleet of 6

I note that Papillon & Pirihi seem to have found a new gear this season, and are threatening the leader board in a number of these series. 

ASC Live Cam

New members Jono Gosselin & Angus Abrahams from LJ Hooker in Avalon have generously provided sponsorship to upgrade our ageing computer technology. This has provided our intrepid head coach, Kingsley, wth the impetus to set up a live cam at the club. The camera pans North & South, and across the deck streaming live via YouTube for members and the public to view. A link to the Live Cam is on our home page. However, at the moment it is still in test mode (and may be down) whilst we wait for the new equipment to be installed.

The live cam serves a few purposes. Primarily it provides members with a live view of their vessel, CCTV footage will be saved should we have some kind of incident (damage, accident, theft etc) and as a live view of the conditions off the club in Pittwater for the public to view, which may aso raise our profile to attract new members.

Storage and Racks

Pat Qiunlan & Gary Tim, along with Helena (membership) have been working through the racks and storage. Over the last few years (due to COVID) we have taken a more casual approach to internal storage, but this is no longer possible or viable with sailing activities returning to historical levels. Internal storage is prioritised for sailing boats, and whilst we have allowed kayaks, paddleboards and equipment to be stored inside we have no further capacity to do so. The only option for non-sailing boats internally is on the higher up racks. Tenders must either be in “Sky Dinghy” racks suspended from the ceiling or around the back of the club where there is availability.

Whilst Gary & Pat have managed to contact most members to ensure they have paid for racks, there are still boats and equipment where the owner can’t be identified and no payment for the rack has been received. Shortly stickers will be placed on these boats, providing notice for owners to remove their equipment or it will be taken to the tip. If you are able to identify any of these boats or equipment and their owners please let Gary or Patrick know.

Moving forward Pat & Gary will be implementing a tag on each rack identifying which member it has been allocated to, and whether it’s been paid for. This will assist greatly in the management of racks moving forward.

We currently have a mooring and external dinghy racks available for yachts & their tenders. Contact Gary or Pat. 

Our rack policy, which includes guidelines on what can be stored where, and how internal racks are allocated is on our website under Club Etiquette: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/avalonsailingclub/members/code-of-conduct/

Whilst we are talking about Club Etiquette, please ensure that boats or equipment are NEVER left on the floor and in the aisles inside the club. Members need access to their boats and equipment on any day throughout the year, and whilst it might seem OK to leave something overnight during the week - actually it’s not, as you are quite likely blocking access for a member who has no option but to move it. Which may not always be possible for all individuals and may result in damage.

Building Works

Our tireless secretary James George was recently successful in securing a $20,000 grant to renew our Kitchen. James does an amazing job of applying for every grant that applies to a club like ours, so it’s very exciting when we win one ! Given that the grant must be spent this year, and on the kitchen, this project will almost certainly get priority over the men’s bathroom project, which will be the very next one on the list.

Shakespear

Given the success of last year’s play, local troupe Such Stuff Productions will be putting on Shakespear’s Othello at the club on the 24th & 25th February. Details and links for tickets on our website: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/avalonsailingclub/events/161309/

Founding Families of ASC

Last year I was contacted by Bruce Gregory, whose family were very involved in the formation of the club, and specifically the building of the clubhouse. His father was made a life member in 1964 along with Phil Rudder & John Ryves. Bruce had come across Norm Field’s history of Avalon Sailing Club and also a chapter on Avalon Sailing Club in “Remembering Avalon” which has historical reflections from those who grew up in Avalon in the 1940s & 1950s, and available at Bookoccino. John Brogan, another founding family member, is friends with Bruce and wrote the piece in that book. A few of us met with Bruce & John at the club recently.

Curiously, our honour boards start in 1956/57 and yet the ten years prior are when those founding families made that extraordinary effort to secure our location and build the clubhouse that is the very foundation of our club. Memories of those years are fading fast, and it's no surprise that the recollections from those present don’t always agree.

Thankfully James George had been given boxes of documents for safekeeping by Norm Field, who had used them to write his history of the club. James has been meticulously going through these handwritten minutes of meetings and AGMs to re-establish office holders going back to 1946. 

We now have an opportunity to recognise those “founding families” with a new honour board that documents the office holders of those “missing years” according to the records from AGMs at the time.

Given that anybody who was a child in the 1950s would now be in their 80s, we are going to have a luncheon and event to present the new honour board, and get as many of those former members together whilst we still can. The event is still in the planning stage, and it is providing an impetus for us to gather as much of this history as we can. We will start to digitise all of these written records and photographs so they can survive for future generations.

If you have access to historical records and photographs of the club, or know of “elders” who would like to contribute to our history or attend the event, or join the team working on this initiative, then please contact me commodore@avalonsailingclub.com.au

Enjoying Summer at the Club

We are so fortunate to have this great little club with the best location on Pittwater, so please make the most of it, especially whilst the weather is so good. Members are encouraged to use the facilities during the week and on non-sailing days with family & friends. If you're not sure about what’s OK and what’s not - it’s all in the Club Etiquette on the website.

Note that we do lease the club for low impact events and activities on non-sailing days to raise much needed revenue whilst raising our profile in the community. Members are asked to be mindful of these events and ensure that no boats or equipment are left on the deck or in the hall on those days.  (excepting those that are always stored at the edge of the deck). 

Whilst members may access their boats and equipment during these events, they are asked to avoid any activity like working on and cleaning boats and equipment, that would interfere or disrupt these events and their guests.

If in doubt, check the events on the website: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/avalonsailingclub/events/

Meredith Rasdall’s Art Classes

Meredith and her family are long time ASC members (husband Richard is a former Commodore), Meredith is our most regular hirer of the club for her Art Classes, which typically run every Thursday during school term with Adults in the morning and Children in the afternoon. Quite a number of our members have become aware of the sailing club by having their children attend Meredith’s classes (including mine :)) - so please be thoughtful when you’re thinking of going to the club on a Thursday, you’ll likely encounter a large group of budding and enthusiastic local artists !